[REMOTE] Volunteer Research Lead - Inland Empire Legal Literacy Project (IELLP)

Position Title: Research Lead

Reports to: Editor-in-Chief

Time Commitment: 5 –10 hours/week

Compensation: Volunteer/Unpaid (until funding is secured)

Location: Remote

Department: Research and Writing

Responsibilities:

• Assign and manage research tasks across multiple team members
• Create and maintain shared source folders (with annotations, summaries, or highlights).
• Ensure all sources are credible, relevant, and cited correctly.
• Track research deadlines and provide weekly progress updates to the Assistant Director
• Schedule and lead internal check-ins with researchers
• Collaborate with writers to clarify complex findings and ensure alignment with article goals
• Contribute to editorial brainstorming and content planning meetings
• Vet sources for bias, accuracy, and reliability
• Help shape the research strategy for upcoming topics and series
• Supervise and assign research tasks to team members and interns.
• Conduct in-depth research on policy, immigration, and justice-related topics affecting the Inland Empire.
• Verify all sources for accuracy, credibility, and bias.
• Compile reports and briefs for writers, editors, and community presentations.
• Track legislation, local ordinances, and community trends for story development.
• Support the editorial team by providing background research and citations.
• Maintain a well-organized, shared research database for ongoing projects.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, English, Political Science, or a related field.
• Strong command of grammar, syntax, and style.
• Experience in community-based or advocacy journalism.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred.
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice and public education.
• Experience with policy analysis, academic research, or nonprofit advocacy.
• Excellent analytical and written communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail and ethical research practices.
• Experience in data management and report writing preferred.